Everything has a story. You didn't think Unifix Cubes just happened did you? The colorful counting cubes that have become such a fixture in math classrooms all over the world turned 65 this year. Imagine how many ways you could express that using Unifix!
In 1953 Charles Tacey, whose family had been in the school supply business since 1829, came up with the idea to replace counting beads with cubes. Beads had an annoying tendency to roll way, but cubes stayed put. Cubes could also be designed to snap together, making it easier for students to understand basic mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction.
For many years the UK-based Taceys worked closely with pedagogical pioneer Maria Montessori to develop what became known as manipulatives. The Unifix Cube was such a success (they can also be used to teach language arts) that in 1976 Didax was incorporated in the US specifically to bring Unifix to America. More than a billion cubes later, Unifix has helped generations of students learn math.
Didax has been a great friend to MathStart since our beginning over twenty years ago. From the publication of the first three books to the 63-book series of today, the wonderful staff at Didax have been among our staunchest champions.
In addition to selling MathStart books by leveled sets, Didax also offers sets that come with manipulatives selected to be used with the stories.
In addition, Didax published three Hands-On Math and Literature activity books, one for each MathStart level, written by veteran math educators Don Balka and Richard Callan. These activities have been thoroughly tested in the classroom!
In 1953 Charles Tacey, whose family had been in the school supply business since 1829, came up with the idea to replace counting beads with cubes. Beads had an annoying tendency to roll way, but cubes stayed put. Cubes could also be designed to snap together, making it easier for students to understand basic mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction.
For many years the UK-based Taceys worked closely with pedagogical pioneer Maria Montessori to develop what became known as manipulatives. The Unifix Cube was such a success (they can also be used to teach language arts) that in 1976 Didax was incorporated in the US specifically to bring Unifix to America. More than a billion cubes later, Unifix has helped generations of students learn math.
Didax has been a great friend to MathStart since our beginning over twenty years ago. From the publication of the first three books to the 63-book series of today, the wonderful staff at Didax have been among our staunchest champions.
In addition to selling MathStart books by leveled sets, Didax also offers sets that come with manipulatives selected to be used with the stories.
In addition, Didax published three Hands-On Math and Literature activity books, one for each MathStart level, written by veteran math educators Don Balka and Richard Callan. These activities have been thoroughly tested in the classroom!
| Thank you for everything Didax! Happy birthday Unifix! To shop for MathStart at Didax, click here! |  |
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